Visualizations for a Young Polar Explorer

19-year-old explorer Parker Liautaud is attempting to set a new speed record from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole, and data storage company EMC is helping out with analytics and visualizations during the trek. Liautaud will be collecting chemical samples and weather data during his journey, in addition to generating various biometric data as he crosses the frozen continent.

EMC’s “DataLab” will analyze and visualize this data to aid climate change research efforts. The company has already posted a series of visualizations of past weather and climate data, including a stark chart showing the rapid increase of global carbon dioxide emissions over the last century.

Travis Korte is a research analyst at the Center for Data Innovation specializing in data science applications and open data. He has a background in journalism, computer science and statistics. Prior to joining the Center for Data Innovation, he launched the Science vertical of The Huffington Post and served as its Associate Editor, covering a wide range of science and technology topics. He has worked on data science projects with HuffPost and other organizations. Before this, he graduated with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, having studied critical theory and completed coursework in computer science and economics. His research interests are in computational social science and using data to engage with complex social systems. You can follow him on Twitter @traviskorte.